Villa Roma, the Mediterranean standard for Borscht Belt excellence and one of the last remaining Catskills hotel bastions, took a turn for the worse the night of April 12, 2006. Like the Titanic hitting a wall of ice on the same date 84 years earlier, a wall of fire brought down the Italian rustic resort in the middle of the night, sending residents fleeing in their nightclothes.
While the Callicoon hotel was damaged beyond repair, its 230 timeshare units remained unscathed. Then, if the fire were not enough to drive owner Martin Passante to the brink, a torrential storm brought water cascading through the halls, along with mud, rack and  ruin to many of the timeshare suites.
Notwithstanding fire and flood, Passante vowed to rebuild the popular spot. He”™s accomplished his mission, to the tune of $27 million, according to general manager Paul Carlucci, who has been with the hotel since 1984. “It”™s spectacular, and now that it”™s built, it”™s even more beautiful than Marty envisioned it. We”™re putting in those finishing touches ”“ carpeting, furniture ”“ and we”™ll be ready to open by the end of August.”Â
For many families who called Villa Roma their “casa away from casa,” it can”™t open soon enough. And now, guests will have their choice of five separate pools, a 600-seat ballroom/convention center, a 1,000 seat nightclub, along with all the amenities that make corporate types smile: a business center, meeting rooms, wireless Internet and an 18-hole golf course where deals are sealed (or broken) more often than people might think.
In combining business with pleasure, Villa Roma will offer a bevy of family activities that include bowling, horseback riding, arcades, bumper boars, a go-cart track and supervised children”™s programs  that can allow companies using the facility to include wives (or husbands as the case may be) and children ”“ a good idea, especially since the economy has tightened everyone”™s belt. And Villa Roma”™s metropolitan-area catchment area is looking better and better for its business model as gasoline climbs and climbs.
Its guests will be able to travel eight miles up 17B to Bethel WoodsCenter for the Performing Arts, which opened its doors in June 2006, just two months after the fire that consumed most of Villa Roma. In addition to being a mere six miles from the Pennsylvania border, where casino gambling is in full vigor, Villa Roma”™s guests will be less than ½ hour away from Louis Cappelli”™s Entertainment City, mandated through its agreement with the state  to open its doors by 2011.Â
With Monticello Raceway and Mighty M Gaming moving to Entertainment City in Liberty on the site of the former Concordmething to crow about when that multimillion dollar venue opens to the public. So will owner Marty Passante, who promised to bring his “Rome-antic” hotel back bigger and better than before. hotel, Villa Roma guests will have so
You can almost hear Dean Martin singing “An Evening in Roma”:
“Come bella cella luna brille strette; Strette come tutta bella a passeggiare; Sotto il cielo di Roma.”
The Web site is www.villaroma.com and the toll-free number for information and reservations is (800) 533-6767.
